1 The year of 1526 was a defining time in the long history of India. In that year, Babur, a Turkish prince, launched a series of attacks against India from his base in present-day Kabul, Afghanistan. In the showdown at Panipat, his troops collided with Sultan Ibrahim Lodi's men. As the two sides met head-on, the sultan was confident that the victory would belong to him. After all, he had nearly 100,000 men and 100 elephants in his camp! Things, however, did not go as planned. While Babur commanded only 12,000 men and had no elephants, he had a better army and the latest weaponry (cannons) at his disposal. Thus, he won the famous battle of Panipat. After the victory, Babur killed the sultan and captured his capital city of Delhi. He then went on to subdue the city of Agra. Babur chose that city to be the new capital city of his empire. He proclaimed himself the first ruler of the Mughal (also spelled as Mogul) dynasty.2 Babur's Mughal dynasty brought the demise of the so-called Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate was a series of Muslim dynasties that had control over northern India since 1206. It was so named because Delhi was the capital city of those kingdoms.3 Babur was, undoubtedly, a military genius whose family tree could be traced all the way back to two of the world's most famous figures. On his father's side, he was the fifth direct descendent of the Turkish conqueror, Timur (also known as Timur the Lame or Tamerlane). On his mother's side, he was the thirteenth direct descendent of the Mongol warrior, Genghis Khan. Aside from his military accomplishments and impressive familial lineages, Babur was also a gifted writer and a lover of nature. He composed poems and built gardens. His memoir has since become a classic autobiography!